The Origins of Bradford City By David Pendleton Chapter 9: Champions! 1893-94 Manningham sent out an uncompromising message to their rivals in the Yorkshire Senior Competition by thrashing Broughton Rangers 34-0. It might have been merely a friendly, a curtain raiser to the new campaign, but it signalled the Valley Paraders intent. Off the field the club had leased further land at the ‘Manningham End’ (Kop) of the ground from the Midland Railway Company. According to the Bradford Daily Telegraph it was to ‘be altered to so as to give increased and better accommodation to spectators’. Also what the paper termed ‘the poor man’s side’ (Midland Road) was to be improved. Several hundred Manningham fans followed their team to Batley for the opening game of the Yorkshire Senior Competition on 16 September. They were rewarded with a narrow 3-0 victory. Four days the annual meeting of the Rugby Union took place in London. A proposal by the Yorkshire clubs that players be compensated for ‘broken time’ was rejected by 136-282 votes. It was in short a north-south divide. The emerging northern clubs were travelling further afield for games and, not unreasonably, wanted to compensate their players who would miss a mornings work as a result. The committed amateurs of the south refused to sacrifice what they saw as the principles of the game. They were also concerned that the huge income of the northern clubs would be used to attract the best players. Back on the field, the last Saturday in September brought the much-anticipated Bradford derby. 17,000 crammed into Valley Parade to witness a frantic and close fought battle. Bradford’s Jenkinson opened the scoring with a dropped goal from the halfway line. The Bradford Daily Telegraph said the cheer that met the goal was ‘loud enough to waken the sleepers at Undercliffe’. The Paraders fought back and won the derby late on with a goal, which was greeted by wild scenes. ‘The spectators almost frantic with joy’, reported a breathless Telegraph. ‘Hundreds of hats were seen flying in the air, whilst the players performed various acrobatic feats’. It ended Manningham 6 Bradford 4. The result capped the emergence of the Valley Parade side. By November the Paraders were in second place following a comprehensive 10-0 victory at Leeds. Boxing Day gave Bradford the chance to gain revenge as Manningham made the short trip to Park Avenue. It was a daunting prospect for the Paraders, in Bradford’s starting line up were three England internationals and six Yorkshire players. 18,408 paid record receipts of £416 9s. It was another tight affair, though Manningham had the majority of the ball. When the Paraders made the breakthrough the Bradford Daily Telegraph said the cheer ‘could be heard at the Belle Vue!’ Manningham won 3-0 and completed a humiliating double over their cross-town rivals. That night the Belle Vue was ‘packed to suffocation’, everyone wanting to drink to the health of the players. The top two sides in the Yorkshire Senior Competition - Manningham and Brighouse - met at Valley Parade on 30 December. Neither could gain an advantage as a scoreless draw was played out. A rare defeat at Halifax on New Years Day was followed by a remarkable run. In the league Manningham didn’t concede another point until March. Sixty men cleared the Valley Parade pitch of snow on 6 January to allow Leeds to be beaten 8-0. Liversedge, Wakefield and Batley were swept aside before Manningham made the trip to leaders Brighouse. In a snowstorm another scoreless draw was played out. Liversedge were beaten 6-0 before on 3 March Manningham finally conceded a point - though it was in a 29-4 thrashing of Hull. The last match of the season saw Manningham defeat Dewsbury away 3-0 and the league was tied thus: | ||
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The Yorkshire Rugby Union instructed the sides to ‘play-off’ to decide a winner. On Thursday 15 March the sides met at Hanson Lane Halifax. Once again the game was a stalemate, ending 0-0. Before the sides could meet again the Yorkshire Challenge Cup got underway, Manningham won 33-5 at Selby, but all eyes were on the league decider.
Brighouse and Manningham did battle again on 20 March at Wakefield. Special trains took thousands of fans from Bradford. This time the deadlock was broken and a try from Manningham’s Australian Stephenson, converted by George Lorrimer, won the match and the league 9-3. When the victorious team arrived back at the Exchange station, they were met by10,000 people. Crowds lined their route all the way along Market Street, Bank Street and up Manningham Lane to the Belle Vue. The Manningham Brass Band played ‘See the conquering heroes come’. Manningham Lane was ‘thronged with promenading football enthusiasts’ as a celebration dinner took place at the Belle Vue. In the second round of the Challenge Cup Manningham were drawn to play Brighouse! Once again the sides drew, though this time 5-5. In the replay at Brighouse Manningham ran out easy winners 13-0. Round three saw a comfortable 26-5 victory at Featherstone Rovers. However, dreams of a ‘double’ were dashed at Halifax where Manningham lost narrowly to the eventual cup winners. Manningham met ‘the rest’ in a celebration friendly at Valley Parade on 28 April. The Yorkshire Senior Competition shield was proudly on show. ‘The rest’ spoiled the party winning 5-0. A celebration dinner was held at the Great Northern Hotel (Victoria), where medals were presented to Manningham and the runners up Brighouse. The clubs annual meeting on 22 May heard that of 40 games played, 23 were won, 7 drawn and 10 lost. 364 points had been scored and 118 conceded. The top scorer was ‘colonial friend’ Stephenson, who piled up 21 tries and one dropped goal. Income was £2,064 14s 5d, of which £1,519 10s 5d had been taken at the gate. The club now boasted 1,100 season ticket holders. Expenditure was slightly over income - £2,074 11s – but thanks to previous seasons a balance of £293 16s 1d was at hand. £135 had been spent on repairs to the grandstand and ground. £253 14s 14d, plus £59 legal fees, had gone on the land purchase deposit for the extension of the ground at what we today know as the Kop end. The meeting authorised spending £1,000 on a new grandstand. The existing stand - brought to Valley Parade from Carlisle Road in 1886 - was to be demolished and a long terrace constructed extending the full length of the ground. Accommodation for players, press and members would be improved. 12,000 spectators would be accommodated - with an increase of 500 seats. The Midland Railway Company had turned down a long lease, but had assured the club that the land would not be taken, unless it was required for railway use - apparently that was highly unlikely. In the event the works on the main stand didn’t take place. Over the summer the pitch was lengthened by five yards and the embankment at the ‘Manningham End’ (Kop) was terraced, providing accommodation for an extra 3,000 spectators. Valley Parade’s capacity was raised to 20,000.
Chapter One: Genesis (1872-80) Chapter Two: Carlisle Road (1880-86) Chapter Three: Valley Parade's first season (1886-87) Chapter Four: Death On The Midland Road (1887-9) Chapter Five: For Club and Country (1889-90) Chapter Six: Trouble At The Mill (1890-91) Chapter Seven: Football Begins to Cast Its Shadow (1891-92) Chapter Eight: Semi-Finalists and League Pioneers (1892-93)
Chapter Ten: The Last Season of Rugby Union (1894-95) Chapter Eleven: Champions of the Rugby League (1895-96) Chapter Twelve: Death of a Hero (1896-97) Chapter Thirteen: Dark Clouds Gather (1897-98) Chapter Fourteen: Financial Woes (1898-99) Chapter Fifteen: The Price of Prudence (1899 -1900) Chapter Sixteen: Football's Inexorable Rise (1900 -1901) Chapter Seventeen: Breakaway Threatens the Future (1901 -1902) Chapter Eighteen: The Metamorphosis of Manningham (1902-03)
Home, Early Days: 1880-1910, The Glory Fades: 1920s-1940s, Rock Bottom: 1950s-1970s, Triumph and Tragedy: 1980s-1990s, Premiership and Beyond: 1998-2003, The Great War, Glorious 1911, 11th May 1985, Valley Parade, Contact Us | ||
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Alf Barraclough, Manningham's captain | | |